In recent months, people have died in the mountains, and it was not just climbers on the world’s highest peaks, but in medium-high mountains. Rescuers found five dead skiers in the Swiss Alps, people were dying in the High Tatras, both while hiking and skiing. Three dead Czechs and one Slovak were found in Kyrgyzstan, where the tragedy was caused by an avalanche, and the tragedy was not avoided even in Sněžka, where two Poles lost their lives.
“I’m sorry it’s happening here,” Eva Perglerová commented on the tragic events. “I think that a person should be properly prepared when going to the mountains, not to underestimate certain things, and I think that the biggest risk lies in the unforeseen events that people underestimate the most,” says the experienced mountaineer.
“I think that they are not perfectly prepared for it physically, this is probably not the case with the ski alpinists, but on the other hand, they supposedly imagined the event as just a quick training session before the race that awaited them. They weren’t dressed enough, they just weren’t fully prepared for the bad conditions. They were doing well physically, but it just didn’t come together.” recalled the unprecedentedly tragic accident in March that affected five family members and their friend near the famous Tete Blanche mountain (3700 m) on the Italian-Swiss border.
“Maybe even in the small mountains here, the weather can turn bad for you within an hour or even less. You have to be prepared for even the worst possibilities. The mountains are treacherous, unpredictable situations occur there,” pointed out Perglerová.
“When you’re already in the mountains and you expect to be there overnight, you have to be equipped. You have a good sleeping bag, you have a stove to boil hot water, that’s important. When you get hurt, you have to carry a huge first aid kit with you, lots of medicine, emergency supplies, stitches,” the mountaineer listed only some parts of the right equipment for a trip to the mountains.
On May 24, 2023, she conquered Mount Everest, becoming only the third Czech woman. How did she prepare, what motivated her and what was it like to stand on the highest mountain in the world? Play the full interview in Epicenter.
